Apple

An iPhone you can use underwater, and one that uses your face to guide rotation

Written by

William Gallagher, AppleInsider:

It may seem as if the iPhone, iPad, and even Mac, have not changed their user interface in years, but in truth Apple is continually revising its software. Apple is also increasingly good at hardware surviving underwater, plus it continues to look into actually making devices remain usable when submerged.

These issues are revisited in two new patents, one of which will concern anyone who’s truly wanted to operate an iOS device underwater. And the other uses technology to solve a small but recurring annoyance.

I would absolutely love the ability to use my iPhone camera under water (without a special case). There are issues with waterproofing the phone itself, but beyond that is the complexity of interacting with a phone within the physics of water. Complicated problem.

Then there’s using your face to orient your device:

All iPads have always automatically rotated their screen so that you can hold them in landscape or portrait, and such that you can hold them any way up. However, every iPad user has also had the experience of having to physically rotate the device in order to get it to check again after it’s turned the wrong way.

Happens to me every single time I fire up my iPad. Every time. I’d love to see this problem solved.

Great read.

The mighty Mini: Adapting Apple’s diminutive tablet to work and play

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John Voorhees wrote a terrific appreciation piece, for MacStories, on the under-appreciated iPad mini. Worth reading, especially worth scrolling through to see all the use cases for which the iPad mini is just perfect.

At the very least, I think the iPad mini is perfect for reading. It’s got the right screen proportion, bigger than iPhone, but still very light. And it supports trackpad and mouse input. Spot on.

Ryan Pickren found a bug in Safari that let malicious code access iOS and macOS camera. Apple gave him $75K

Written by

Ryan Pickren:

This vulnerability allowed malicious websites to masquerade as trusted websites when viewed on Desktop Safari (like on Mac computers) or Mobile Safari (like on iPhones or iPads). ​> Hackers could then use their fraudulent identity to invade users’ privacy. This worked because Apple lets users permanently save their security settings on a per-website basis. ​> If the malicious website wanted camera access, all it had to do was masquerade as a trusted video-conferencing website such as Skype or Zoom.

And:

I reported this bug to Apple in accordance with the Security Bounty Program rules and used BugPoC to give them a live demo. Apple considered this exploit to fall into the “Network Attack without User Interaction: Zero-Click Unauthorized Access to Sensitive Data” category and awarded me $75,000.

If this sort of thing concerns you, put a post-it over your Mac and Mac display cameras.

New iPad adds in hardware microphone disconnect

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Apple Platform Security document:

All Mac portables with the Apple T2 Security Chip feature a hardware disconnect that ensures the microphone is disabled whenever the lid is closed. On the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air computers with the T2 chip, and on the 15-inch MacBook Pro portables from 2019 or later, this disconnect is implemented in hardware alone. The disconnect prevents any software—even with root or kernel privileges in macOS, and even the software on the T2 chip—from engaging the microphone when the lid is closed. (The camera is not disconnected in hardware, because its field of view is completely obstructed with the lid closed.)

That’s the Mac side. On the iPad:

iPad models beginning in 2020 also feature the hardware microphone disconnect. When an MFI compliant case (including those sold by Apple) is attached to the iPad and closed, the microphone is disconnected in hardware, preventing microphone audio data being made available to any software—even with root or kernel privileges in iPadOS or in case the firmware is compromised.

The culture of camera and mic access on the Mac and iPad are very different. On my Mac, when the camera is in use, I see a light. And, as the note states, when the lid is closed, the camera is blocked.

Hardware disconnect does prevent the mic from working when the iPad case is closed. But what if I use my iPad without a case? And what about the camera without a case? There’s no hardware disconnect to rely on. Instead, Apple requires apps to ask for permission to access the camera and microphone.

Seemingly foolproof, but no.

“Hey Siri, play music on Spotify”

Written by

Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac:

After bringing the long-awaited feature to iOS last fall, Spotify has updated its app today to take advantage of Siri support on Apple Watch in watchOS 6.

And:

Spotify mentions in the release notes to use Siri with the music service on Apple Watch users can say, “Hey Siri, Play music on Spotify,” or just add “on Spotify” to any voice command to play content.

Works pretty much everywhere for me now, except HomePod. For that, you’ll need to use AirPlay.

Apple tells staff U.S. stores to remain closed until early May

Written by

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

In a memo to employees, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and People Deirdre O’Brien told staff that the company anticipates that “flexible work arrangements will remain in place for all offices, and all retail stores will remain closed, until early May.”

She said that Apple is “continuing to monitor local conditions for every Apple facility on a daily basis” and that the company will make “reopening decisions on the basis of thorough, thoughtful reviews and the latest guidance from local governments and public health experts.”

Apple deciding to open a specific Apple Store will definitely be a canary in the coal mine, a sign that we’re heading back to normal, at least in that area.

Wondering what those early days will be like. Will there be social distancing methods in place? After all, until we have tests for everyone, and a widely available vaccine, how will stores prevent the spread of COVID-19?

Apple providing subsidies to authorized service providers that offer repairs on pickup and drop-off basis

Written by

Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:

In an effort to encourage social distancing, Apple has indicated that it will provide subsidies to Apple Authorized Service Providers that offer product repairs on a pickup and drop-off basis in the United States and Canada.

Here’s how this works. Go to https://getsupport.apple.com/ and start a repair request. Go through the first few screens to describe your issue. Then, when you get to the screen titled “How would you like to get help?”, select “Send in for repair”.

Apple is doing double-service here. They’re providing repair when their stores are closed, and they are helping keep small businesses afloat.

Layoffs at The Omni Group

Written by

John Gruber:

This feels like another kick in the nuts, in an ongoing series of kicks in the nuts. Oof. All of this — as Brent says, gestures at everything — aside, it is hard to shake the feeling that the market for independent professional software is coming apart at the seams, fraying irreparably.

So many layoffs, so many people impacted. This tunnel feels particularly long and particularly dark, hard to make out that little pinprick of light at the end of it.

Related: Michael Tsai’s rollup page with other posts from Omni Group folks looking for work. There’s a deep talent pool on the bench, an opportunity for someone.

Apple offering work-from-home support roles to retail employees

Written by

Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:

Apple has recently contacted some of its retail employees in the U.S. with an opportunity to work from home as a support advisor on a temporary basis due to the ongoing pandemic, according to sources familiar with the matter.

And:

Retail employees who accept this offer will receive the necessary equipment from Apple to offer support to customers by phone or online chat, as well as a small cash incentive, one source noted.

Looks like this offer applies to all retail employees.

Russia ban on iPhones, computers without government mandated apps postponed

Written by

Mike Wuerthele, AppleInsider:

Russia’s lower house of parliament passed legislation in November 2019 that makes it mandatory for devices such as Apple’s iPhone that feature apps to include pre-loaded Russian-made ones. The legislation threatening the ban encompasses smartphones, computers, tablets, and televisions.

And:

Tass isn’t yet clear on the reasons behind the postponement. The delay may be technical, but is more likely related to the COVID-19 outbreak that is complicating device production and development at the moment.

Not the best time to hinder technology that allows people to communicate. The postponement makes a lot of sense.

Apple Pay and COVID-19

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From the headline linked post about Publix rolling out Apple Pay:

A post on Reddit by user Gabriel2790 shows a picture of an internal document. “Contactless payments are coming to our store! What does that mean,” asks the document. “The most commonly known forms of contactless payment are Apple Pay and Android Pay.”

The document goes on to explain how customers will be able to use mobile phones, smartwatches, and contactless credit and debit cards, as well as what cashiers can expect from the transaction. At the bottom of the document, it shows that the store in question will receive the ability to accept contactless payments on March 31, 2020.

The number of in person credit card transactions is dwindling. But those few that still occur highlights the issue with someone else handling your credit card or placing your credit card in a slot that has held other people’s cards.

When Apple Pay first rolled out, I mostly thought about security and convenience. But now I think about transmission, in this case, of COVID-19.

In these days of fewer and fewer in person transactions, I can only imagine Apple Pay is showing shrinking transaction numbers along with all the other players. But as we emerge from this cocoon, I see big potential for Apple Pay, assuming the value of truly contactless payments is not lost as we rush to return to “normal”.

iOS 14 code reveals kids mode for Apple Watch activity rings

Written by

Zac Hall, 9to5Mac:

9to5Mac exclusively reported earlier this month that iOS 14 and watchOS 7 will include a new SchoolTime mode and kid mode. The latter feature includes the ability for a parent to set up and manage an Apple Watch for a child with a single iPhone.

Here’s a link to that post.

When an Apple Watch is configured in this new kids mode, Apple will treat the Activity rings differently for the first time.

And:

Apple Watch will instead replace the active calories metric for the move ring with a move time. For example, Apple Watch can track a goal of 90 minutes of movement throughout the day instead of 500 active calories burned.

I’ve long wondered (pure speculation on my part) if Apple would ever release an Apple Watch specifically for kids. One with geofencing built in that would notify parents if their child left school, or home. An active notification, rather than the passive use of “Find My”.

And, of course, sold in a smaller size, with kid oriented watch faces and bands.

Helvetica: The game-changing typeface made to go unnoticed

Written by

CNN:

It started its life as “Neue Haas Grotesk,” a boringly descriptive moniker which included the name of its maker (the Haas foundry), its design type (neo-grotesque or realist) and the fact that is was new (or “neue” in German).

“The original name sucked,” said Shaw. The name Helvetica, which means “Swiss” in Latin as a homage to its country of origin, was adopted in 1960 to make it easier to sell it abroad.

And:

But it didn’t take long before it became the standard for advertising and corporate branding in the US: “In 1967 it creeps into the design for the Yankee Stadium,” said Shaw, “And by 1968 it’s everywhere in America — it is the typeface.”

And:

In 1984, Steve Jobs puts it in the Macintosh: “This was a key move. If Apple didn’t use it, Helvetica would have remained a designer’s preference, same as Times New Roman. Instead, it becomes the default sans serif when sans serif fonts are becoming popular among the populous and not just avant-garde designers,”

Another key adoption was the New York Subway signage and system map. Interesting bit of history.

Coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, Home Before Dark

Written by

[VIDEO] This looks like perfect, shelter-in-place family viewing. This particular video, shared by Apple and embedded in the main Loop post, is an inside look at the show.

Apple tests its secrecy somewhere new: Employee homes

Written by

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

Earlier in March, Apple shuttered many facets of its Apple Park and older Infinite Loop campuses as San Francisco Bay Area officials put in place stay-at-home orders. Later, the company told employees that specific approval is needed to gain access to an office, but identification badges remain functional.

And:

In early March, in a contrast to its normal practices, Apple started allowing engineers to take home early versions of future devices to continue work during the lockdown period. Previously, the company allowed select employees to take home nearly complete devices such as iPhones for real world testing.

And:

Taking home a future product requires the green light from the vice president of an employee’s organization. That list of staff with future devices at their homes also is sometimes reviewed by Apple’s senior vice presidents, the management team run by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.

Fascinating piece. Apple has built a company that revolves around secrecy, but now must allow trust to enter the equation in order to keep moving forward. A tricky and interesting problem.

A flashy look at the new iPad Pro

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[VIDEO] A detailed look at the new iPad Pro in action (video embedded in main Loop post). I love the open of this video. Such great production values. Like butter.

The whole thing is worth watching, but one part I found particularly interesting popped up at about 2:50, where a 4K .mov file is exported to 1080p on both the new iPad Pro and the 2018 model. Amazing results. To me, this shows a splitting point from the old to the new models.

iFixit iPad Pro 2020 teardown, a solid look at those LiDAR dots

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[VIDEO] Two things to watch for in this iFixit teardown of the new iPad Pro, embedded in the main Loop post:

  • Replacing the battery is impossibly difficult for a mere mortal
  • Those LiDAR dots are pretty huge

That latter point is not a complaint, just an observation. Jump to about 1:43 and see for yourself.

Compared to the fine mesh of Face ID, LiDAR dots are much larger, with a much wider spread. Makes sense. Face ID is intended for a detailed map of your face, up close, while LiDAR is intended to map, say, the walls of a room, or an arrangement of objects on a table.

Gruber: Curse words

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Linked post from John Gruber, focused on the definition of the word “cursor”. What we typically think of as a cursor:

  • The icon that moves around on the screen that you control with your mouse or trackpad.
  • The vertical bar that blinks in a text editing field to indicate where typed characters will appear.

Gruber makes the case that we should use these terms, to be more precise:

  • Mouse/trackpad pointer.
  • Insertion point.

Read the piece. Very interesting, solid logic, well researched.

On the iPad Pro’s A12Z being a rename of the A12X with an enabled GPU core

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Start off with this 9to5Mac post from Chance Miller, “Report claims new iPad Pro’s A12Z Bionic chip is just a ‘renamed A12X with an enabled GPU core’”:

In its press release for the new iPad Pro, Apple said that one of the changes with the A12Z Bionic processor was the addition of an eighth GPU core. Notebook Check, however, claims that it has confirmed the A12X Bionic processor from 2018 actually features 8 GPU cores, but that one is disabled. This would imply that Apple has simply enabled that eighth GPU core and changed the marketing name of the processor.

While this may be true, it’s worth reading this thread from Quinn Nelson:

https://twitter.com/SnazzyQ/status/1243356754554961920

In a nutshell, Quinn explains that this practice is longstanding and widespread in the industry and, likely, nothing new for Apple. And, more importantly, nothing sinister.

Another take on the so-called practice of “chip binning”:

Chip binning is a common practice in the silicon industry, and the theory goes like this: For repeatable structures like a GPU core, each added core adds to a potential defect rate. By disabling one core by design, you can ship more viable dies at a given target performance.

Apple says MacBook Air with retina display can exhibit anti-reflective coating issues, unclear if eligible for free repairs

Written by

Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:

Apple this week acknowledged that MacBook Air models with Retina displays can exhibit anti-reflective coating issues, as indicated in a memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers and obtained by MacRumors.

“Retina displays on some MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro computers can exhibit anti-reflective (AR) coating issues,” the memo states.

And:

Apple has a free repair program for the anti-reflective coating issue in place internally, but it has yet to add any MacBook Air models to its list of eligible models, despite mentioning it elsewhere in the documentation. However, with Apple at least acknowledging that the MacBook Air can exhibit the issue, customers may have a valid argument for at least a free in-warranty repair.

Follow the headline link for a picture that tells the story, shows what this “staining” looks like.

Also, this from John Gruber:

I have it on good authority that the MacBook Air, retina display or otherwise, is not covered by the repair program. Unclear to me is how widespread the problem is with Airs.

Also, also, this MacBook Air “Staingate” rollup page from Michael Tsai is worth a visit.

50 meter optical Thunderbolt 3 cables

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Few people will need this, but cool to know that optical is becoming an option for Thunderbolt 3. If you need the extra cable length, optical is the path.

Ever since I was a kid, I found fiber optic cable’s ability to transmit signals over vast distances with zero degradation to be fascinating. If this interests you at all, check out this physics demo where water acts as a fiber optic “cable”.

iFixit: There’s something new in the (MacBook) Air

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This is one of the most enjoyable-to-read teardowns I’ve made my way through in a long time. But that aside, Apple has clearly made some headway in Mac repairability.

One nugget in particular leapt out at me:

That new trackpad cable configuration pays dividends! Where last year the trackpad cables were trapped under the logic board, they are now free to be disconnected anytime—meaning trackpad removal can happen as soon as the back cover comes off. And since the battery rests under these same cables, this new configuration also greatly speeds up battery removal by leaving the logic board in place.

This alone makes the MacBook Air a big leap forward for me. Glad to see it.

Dell now lets you control iPhones from its PCs

Written by

Jon Porter, The Verge:

If you’re an iPhone user with a modern Dell computer, you can now mirror your phone’s screen to your PC and control it using Dell’s Mobile Connect app. Version 3 of the iOS app lets you control your phone using your PC’s keyboard and mouse, and you can also drag and drop photo and video files to transfer them between the two devices. You can also now send SMS messages without needing to keep the iPhone app open in the foreground.

No easy thing, breaching those ecosystem walls!

Polygon: “Mythic Quest is sitcom comfort-viewing, and Charlotte Nicdao is its breakout star”

Written by

Matt Patches, writing for Polygon, opens with this sentence:

Last February, one of the most enjoyable sitcoms of the last few years slipped onto Apple TV Plus.

Couldn’t agree more. And clearly one of the biggest reasons for Mythic Quest’s success is Charlotte Nicdao. To me, she is the beating heart of a top-notch ensemble cast.

If you are a fan of the show, follow the link and read on. And if you’ve not yet watched, now would be an excellent opportunity to dig in.

A pair of Apple sneakers has sold online for more than AU$16,000

Written by

Brad Nash, GQ:

First built as prototypes for Apple employees in the early ’90s, they obviously drew on the most prolific training shoe styles of the time, and have such become a cult relic from the sneaker scene of that time.

Follow the link, check out the pic. These kicks scream ’90s, early Apple. Paging Matthew Panzarino.

UPDATE: Here’s a link to the auction itself. Looks like the sale was in AUD, not USD. Headline updated. [H/T AppleInsider’s Mike Wuerthele]

100,000 miles and one week with an iPad Pro

Written by

Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief, took his iPad Pro on a one-week trip to Brazil:

The trip changed my mind completely about whether I could run TechCrunch wholly from a tablet. It turns out that it was lighter, smoother and more willing than my MacBook at nearly every turn. I never went back.

Balance that comment with:

The new iPad Pro offers an attractive refresh for new buyers, but not current ones.

That last is not a complaint, as much as a note that the new A12Z Bionic processor appears to be in-line, power wise with the A12X in the previous iPad Pro, the so-called third generation, introduced in October 2018.

Obviously, there’s much more to this fourth gen iPad Pro, including the celebrated LiDAR Scanner (early days for AR, but a machine ready for those apps as they come), eight-core CPU and GPU, doubling of base storage to 128 GB and, of course, the soon-to-arrive Magic Keyboard.

Great, real world review. If you’re considering the new iPad Pro, this is worth reading.

Magic Keyboard scissor-switch suppliers ramping up production, see no cutbacks in orders

Written by

DigiTimes:

Suppliers engaged in the supply chain for Apple’s new products featuring its redesigned scissor-switch Magic Keyboard are ramping up production and have seen no cutbacks in the orders despite concerns over the coronavirus, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

And:

So far, Apple has not cut any of its orders with the upstream supply chain for 2020, but related upstream suppliers are still closely monitoring the coronavirus development.

Note that the same Magic Keyboard scissor mechanism is used in the external Magic Keyboard, shipping in May, as well as internally in the new MacBook Air and the 16″ MacBook Pro.

Bloomberg: Apple may start reopening stores in first half of April

Written by

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. told staff that some of its retail stores may reopen in April on a staggered basis and has extended remote work abilities for many employees through at least April 5.

And:

“For all of our retail stores outside of Greater China, we will reopen our stores on a staggered basis. At this time, we anticipate some stores may be able to open in the first half of April depending on the conditions in their community,” O’Brien wrote. “We will provide updates for each store as soon as specific dates are established.”

Take with a grain of salt, for many reasons, not the least of them being the unpredictable nature of the coronavirus spread.

That said, I’ll take it. A bit of light at the end of the tunnel.